


Aeon Shion

by KiraLioden



Category: Persona 3
Genre: F/F, Gen, I mean it could be read as either platonic or romantic, i think, i was told there is a plot but apparently i was initially blind hhhahaaa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25545697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraLioden/pseuds/KiraLioden
Summary: Dreams are funny things, aren't they?
Relationships: Aigis & Arisato Minako, Aigis/Arisato Minako
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Aeon Shion

Robots are not meant to dream. Even when they are designed in the image of humans, they are not built to dream. Even when they are made to have a heart and mind, they are not designed to dream, not even a little. They are ultimately just machines.

But when one has a heart and mind, and the emotions that come with being human, even a machine will dream. Aigis found this out herself; Arisato Minako’s death permanently engraved itself into her memory banks, and the time since then had only been filled with grief. Aigis knows logically that all the former members of SEES also in pain, but even so, she can’t see it. Either that, or she can’t bring herself to see the suffering of everyone in the dormitory. But in any case, grief brings emotions, thick and heavy like the blood and tears that spilled on the top of the tower that night, and with emotions comes dreams.

Sometimes, they’re terrible, forcing her out of sleep mode just from the sheer horror she witnesses. Those are the dreams where Arisato fails to seal Nyx away, or the ones where Aigis can’t disobey Ikusuki’s orders and everyone’s blood is spilled. Occasionally, those dreams would instead be of a full-moon fight or a guardian floor in Tartarus. But every time, instead of victory, Arisato falls to a blow that hits too strong. Then the world crumbles to ash all around Aigis, reminding her how she’s failed to protect Arisato or anyone else the girl cared for.

Others are sweeter. They’re the ones where all of SEES celebrate together, or are back on that trip to Kyoto. No one is dead. Everyone is happy and smiling, and sometimes Ryoji is there, too, laughing with the rest of them as if he isn’t the likewise-doomed harbinger of death. But even in these dreams, Aigis can’t help but notice that even in dreams, Arisato isn’t anywhere as energetic as she used to be. It hurts in a different way then, and she’s unsure which she actually considers more painful.

But this dream is new. The atmosphere doesn’t try to lie to her; it’s already heavy, melancholy, though Aigis doesn’t sense any danger here. It is still, however, warm and bright, with the cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Petals fall from the branches and flutter in the faint breeze, raining down both on the grass and stone pathway that vanishes into the mist that realistically shouldn’t be there. But it also feels bizarrely real, as if she isn’t dreaming while she’s charging; still, she’s extremely aware of the fact she _is_ asleep in her room.

Discarding that thought for now, she thinks the setting feels a lot like the day Arisato died. And with that in mind, it’s almost not a surprise when a little bit of wandering down the path causes her to find Arisato sitting under one of the trees, reading the contents of a worn notebook. Her headphones are on, too, and now that she listens, Aigis can hear her off-key humming.

The robot takes a step towards her, then hesitates a moment. It feels wrong to trespass into a serene sight like this. Arisato deserves her peace, after all, even if it isn’t truly her. But it’s decided for her when Arisato looks over and waves, as if the girl had sensed Aigis’s thoughts. She closes the notebook and pulls off her headphones, beaming brightly.

“Hey, Aigis!” she calls, and if Aigis had a human heart to speak of, she’s sure it would have faltered at the sound of her voice. She’s already aching inside anyway. “It’s really nice to see you here.”

“It is nice to see you too, Arisato-san,” Aigis replies, moving to kneel beside the girl. The plant life under her is soft and fragrant, with a faint scent of dew hanging on both the petals and blades of grass. It soothes her a little bit. Arisato then rests her head on Aigis’s shoulder, and she freezes, as if a single movement would disturb the girl. But while externally she’s still, Aigis can hear her motors whirring fervently at the touch. Arisato must have heard it, too, because she laughs in that lovely, joyful way of hers. Aigis missed the sound.

“Someone’s still flustered when it comes to handholding, huh?” the girl asks, lacing her fingers with the robot’s. It takes a beat for Aigis to squeeze Arisato’s hand in turn, but it’s comfortable. “Anyway, you can still call me Minako, you know. Death didn’t change the fact we’re close.”

“Minako-san...” she echoes. It’s been some time since she last called Arisato that. “So… You remember, then?”

Does she want Arisato to remember? Aigis is unsure. It would be helpful if she does; after all, they hadn’t found a cause of death. But in a way, she’s still afraid to hear a “yes.”

Arisato’s hairpins gleam in the sunlight. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t. I mean, since it _wa_ _s_ a bit of an important moment, it’s kinda silly to just forget about that, hmm?” She tilts her face towards Aigis. “So how’s the team holding up?”

“Not very well,” she admits. “Kirijo-san had disbanded SEES. She says there’s little purpose of its existence now that the Dark Hour is gone. We have… become a little more distant since then.”

 _You were the only thing keeping_ _us_ _all together,_ she doesn’t add.

Arisato doesn’t look surprised, though perhaps a bit disappointed. “I thought you guys would’ve at least stayed together as friends...” she says quietly. “Especially after everything we’ve gone through as a team.”

Aigis can’t bring herself to reply. Instead, she occupies herself with staring at Arisato’s hair. She hadn’t noticed the little blossoms of purple laced in the girl’s locks. She reaches to touch one, and it holds fast despite its fragile appearance. Even the petals refuse to fall. It intrigues her a little bit.

“You have flowers in your hair,” she says, and Arisato reaches to feel it for herself. She makes a small noise of interest and pulls one off. Aigis notes that she winces, as if it hurt her, but the girl holds up the little daisy-like flower without acknowledging that moment of discomfort.

“Huh! I didn’t know these were there.” Her expression shifts a little, going from interest to something a little more muted. Her eyes even mist a little, if Aigis is not mistaken. “Oh… I know these flowers.”

The silence that follows makes Aigis feel a little uneasy. She eyes the innocuous blossom with skepticism. Perhaps it’s one of those plants that are deadly to humans. Or maybe Arisato had a bad relation with the flowers. “Is there... something wrong with them?”

“No, not really. They just remind me of you.” With that, she passes the blossom to Aigis.

Aigis takes it with hesitant hands. It seems a lot more fragile with her, since a petal flutters free when she touches it, but it’s still as lovely and vibrant as when Arisato held it. “But it does not look similar to me… and there’s no shared colors...”

Arisato giggles as she shakes her head and takes the flower back. “There’s more to that, Aigis. They have meanings, like words,” she says, then tucks it into Aigis’s ribbon. It sits there snugly, though it’s just out of sight for the robot to see. She has to resist touching it again because she has an impulse to make sure it’s actually _there_ , because everything Arisato gives her means the world to her.

Then again, she wonders if she should really bother, since it’s a dream. The gift won’t be there when she wakes, she’s sure. That’s how these are supposed to work. Besides, she reminds herself, Arisato is dead, ashes lost to the wind and sea. Still, there’s no point in removing it, either, so she just leaves it be. Maybe this is what people mean, when they say it’s nice to pretend. “I… do not understand.”

“You’ll learn,” Arisato replies, crimson eyes bright with affection, though it’s tempered by longing, Aigis thinks. “Junpei-kun and Yukari-chan did, though I did have to talk their ears off before some of it managed to stick. They’re not hard to learn, really, if you look them up.”

Aigis can’t say she’s exactly interested, but she doesn’t voice the thought. Though... if Arisato really had been so passionate about these flowers, maybe she will ask the girl’s two closest friends about it later anyway.

They fall into another silence, this time a bit more comfortable than the last. Still, Aigis’s thoughts eventually return to Arisato’s death. It’s a dream; she shouldn’t expect an answer out of this. But she has an odd feeling of hope here, that maybe she can get one. And so, she asks.

“Do you remember the cause of your death?”

Arisato stiffens a little for a few seconds, then relaxes again with a sigh. “Ye-e-e-e-s… but I can’t tell. There’s greater forces behind that,” Arisato says regretfully. “But you’ll find out the truth soon, I promise. Probably only a week or so now.”

That doesn’t make much sense, if she’s remembering right. “We will be moving from the dorm then,” Aigis informs her, and Arisato makes a low sound of agreement.

“I know.”

“We’ll be leaving almost every reminder we have of our times together.”

“That happens when you move out of a place. It’s okay.”

“But I don’t want to go.” Aigis says it a bit more harshly than she meant, and she flinches at her own tone.

That gets a little bit of a reaction from Arisato. “You don’t?” she echoes. “Why?”

Why? _Why_? Wasn’t that the question she asked herself every day, every night? Why is she hurting so much? Why doesn’t she want to leave? She’s known the answer the entire time, but it’s so hard to admit. Still, with her—even an illusion of her—it’s easier to speak her mind.

“I miss you,” Aigis finally says. Her voice cracks. “All of us do, but I _miss_ you. It feels so empty without you, and it hurts. I don’t like that… I feel like I should have protected you, somehow.”

She hears the slight rustle of a notebook being moved, and suddenly there’s a warm hand on her face, gently brushing the tears that have started to bud.

“Don’t cry… there’s nothing else we could have done,” Arisato says. “But see? I’m here with you. And I’ll never leave you guys. At least… at least in the heart and mind, right?”

She squeezes Aigis’s hand again and offers another smile, and Aigis wishes that she can just stay with Arisato for a little while longer. It’s a futile one, and she knows that. But after this long, she wants to be with her again—needs to be there for her again. It’s especially true when she hears something in the distance roar. Aigis is instantly back onto her feet, guns ready to protect the girl, but Arisato only sighs. She stands up, notebook clutched tight as if it’s her last comfort in the world.

“Don’t worry about that. It just means I’m starting to overstay my welcome.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiles again. “It’s nice to spend some time with you again, Aigis. See you.”

There are words just on the tip of Aigis’s tongue. _Wait,_ for instance. _Don’t leave,_ for another. Or maybe, if she was just a little more bold, _I love you._ But before Aigis can make anything more than a soft squeak, Arisato had already turned away, walking off into the mist and vanishing within the sunbeams. Aigis step forward to follow, but before she can reach the mist, she awakens, hand pressed against her chest. She lets the hand fall back to her side, and she stares vacantly at the contents of her room for a few moments, trying to process what she had seen in her dreams. It stings, though, when she tries to think about Arisato, and she feels her face getting damp. Aigis swiftly brushes the tears away, then unhooks herself from her charger.

 _It’s just a dream,_ she tells herself. _It wasn’t her._

Her heart hurts, though, much more than any Ziodyne on her body ever did. Her system’s overheating, too. She should find a way to deal with these dream, lest they affect her processors even more.

She adjusts her ribbon a bit, oblivious to the purple blossom that still sits under her chin, before leaving the room. The flower doesn’t last long; it wasn’t ever meant to. But as it dissolves into light, a faint echo of a card appears in the now-empty room. The Universe Arcana glows, flickering to Aeon a moment before settling on Fool. It then shatters, leaving no signs that a wild card had passed her skills, her wish onto someone else.

**Author's Note:**

> plot? what plot? all i know are flowers. that's what the shion refers to. i meant to write it for all of sees too but i realized i'm lazy and i'll probably not manage it so asdhjfakhsdj whatever. also the title gets to kinda rhyme now? at least, i thought it's fun.
> 
> also minako is maybe a little too affectionate with her methods of addressing others because i just have the feeling she'd use given names for a lot of her friends- with honorifics, for a lot of them. fat lotta sense that makes but i'm a sucker of thinking she's just gotten that close with everyone.
> 
> weird bonus is that i don't normally ship these two but i had "feel soft" hours for them. it's not strictly romantic either (what is it??? pining??????) but uhh aigis gay. that's all.


End file.
